One of the greatest joys of my job as a reporter for the Tomahawk Leader is hearing the amazing fishing stories anglers throughout the Northwoods have to share. Whether it's a grandfather taking his grandson fishing for the first time or a musky angler doing something strange to catch a fish, these stories are what make the Tomahawk area a great place to visit and call home. The intention of this message board is to allow you the opportunity to share your fishing story. The story about how you landed the biggest fish of your life or the tragedy of how a trophy got away. All are encouraged, and who knows, maybe we'll even learn a few things along the way! Send me a line and enjoy your Northwoods water time!

I think your Message Board topic will be fun and interesting and a great place for sharing fishing stories and honing one's story telling skills.

But I would like to know a little more about you. This closed Forum (closed being no other topics can be included) just popped up on the Message Board out of nowhere and it would be great and more interesting if we had some background of how this topic came about and who you are....including your ties with the Leader, with Tomahawk, etc.

Good point Ken, I think how I came to call Tomahawk home is in itself a testament to the draw this area has. Growing up in Clintonville, which is approximately one hour southeast of Wausau, I spent much of my time learning from my father, brother and friends the sport of angling. After graduation, I headed off to the University of Stevens Point where I was first introduced to the amazing fishery the Wisconsin River is. Marriage and my career took me to Sheboygan Falls. There I was editor for The Sheboygan Falls News. While I loved the small town atmosphere of the community, I hated the fact it took me four hours to get to the Northwoods. My wife and I mutually agreed to seperate, which was much like Brad Paisely's country song, "Well I'm Going to Miss Her." My passion for the Northwoods and angling meant it was only a matter of time before I would be calling Northern Wisconsin home. To determine where I wanted to relocate, I spent many hours scanning my Wisconsin Atlas book and Tomahawk was one of the cities that I was instantly drawn to. Thoughts of catching hundreds of walleyes on the Wisconsin River, like I did in college, had me guessing Tomahawk was no different, which I learned this past spring was the case. Another major draw was the ubundant lakes and flowages surrounding the city. Add in the Prarie River's blue ribbon trout fishery and the Tomahawk area is trully an angler's paradise. What has transpired since I made the move and joined the Tomahawk Leader crew just over a year ago is, what I learned, another of the city's major draws. Put the "Small Town" conotation aside because our community has plenty of big-time events that most other communities lack. I'm getting off the subject, but just take a look at all the activities going on today and for the Fourth of July. While the outdoor activities, major events and inspiring scenery are some of Tomahawk's major attributes, the greatest, I have realized, is the people that call this area home. I didn't know a single person when I first moved here. Now, a quick trip to the Post Office can easily take an hour. I've become involved with several of these dedicated people to make sure Tomahawk's future is a vialbe one. As a member of the Make a Difference Group, we were able to pass a junked-vehicle policy that will go into affect this fall. As a member of the Aesthetic Committee, we were able to bring the city the wilderness pole. Working with the Tomahawk Downtown Business Council, we hopefully will soon see the community become a member of the state's Main Street program. It's the people, Ken, who I find make our community an amazing home. Just this afternoon, I was at the Class of '57's 50th reunion. One returning speaker put it eloquently when he said he couldn't encompass Tomahawk in words. He could only describe it as Tomahawk's atmosphere. That's something neither he or I are able to write down. I hope this gives you a pretty good synopsis of who I am and what I'm about. I'm grateful to call Tomahawk home, and each day look forward to the many new adventures I get to experience in our own backyard. Time to go experience Tomahawk!

Nice to see that all of those casts are paying off for you finally. Not a bad little fish. You do need to get your fly rod back out and start working on your cast. Glad to see this message board come about. It will be fun to read stories about fishing in some of my favorite northern Wisconsin waters. Thought I would fill you in on how the fishing has been out here in Idaho. The spring runoff has settled down and the cutthroat and rainbow fishing is excellent. The rivers are low enough now that they can be waded and if patient enough, feeding fish can be found and are more than ready to take a stimulater fly or an elkhair caddis. I was fishing one evening on the Lochsa and didn't see much for rises, but found one fish that was sporadically feeding and cast out to him. Just when my fly got to where I thought the fish was, it came up for my fly and gave me quite a fight. A girthy 17 inch cutthroat made my night of fishing. Several other smaller fish were caught that night, but not like that one. I'm headed back up for work this week, and may have more stories later. Good luck fishing

I ask my sister to post one memorable fishing experience she had with me and she flat comes out and shows me up! Couldn't mention the clinic I put on with the steelhead on the Sheboygan River? Or the thousands of walleyes that have died by these hands? Sister, you are on the verge of facing my sensorship pen! Just kidding, of course. I still remember my first Bonneville and Westernslope cutthroats. Congrats on the trophy fish! As in Idaho, temperatures in Tomahawk are expected to be very hot this weekend. If I don't naturally combust, I'll probably head out on Lake Mohawksin in search of musky. For everyone else wetting a line this weekend, stay cool and good luck fishing!

Speaking of Seven Island lake, do you know why the lake is called "Seven Island Lake" Well I'm sure you do. It's not because there are seven islands on the lake. It's because, from the air, the island looks like seven. Now that information, and a dollar, will get you a cup of coffee just about anywhere.

Catfish, Thank you Catfish. I can now chalk another of life's mysteries off the list. Like many others, I'm sure, I counted the number of islands while floating around Seven Island Lake and only came up with five, if I don't recall. I've never claimed to be good at math, but I do have two hands that I can keep track with and the name baffled me. Another interesting fact about Seven Island Lake is that its lake association currently has under control the invasive weed Eurasian water milfoil (EWM.) The association chemically treated the lake two years ago, and from what I understand, hasn't seen it since. If they are successful in getting rid of the exotic species, the association would be the first in the state to do so. Let's keep our fingers crossed and make sure to double check our boats before heading out on this pristine lake. Take a look in tomorrow's Leader to see a massive musky. Beetle Nyberg of Tomahawk released a 50-inch monster on June 30. A very big fish, but not a big surprise from Beetle, who along with his wife, Susie, catch and release several trophy musky each year. Congrats Beetle! Hopefully I'll have a fishing story of my own to share now that the cooler temperatures have made it comfortable to be back on the lake. Send me a line and enjoy your Northwoods' water time!

So that's fishing. Sometimes, as Sir Izaak Walton so eloquently once put it," "For that time I was lifted above earth; And possest things not promis'd in my birth." Fishing the Spirit and again Seven Island this past weekend was much different than the euphoric experience Walton described after catching a large brown trout in his novel, "The Compleat Angler." Instead, I got a good taste of humility. Friday night I was into my fifth cast on Seven Island when I felt something slam the yellow bucktail I was retrieving. The next cast brought the 40-plus inch musky boat side. It swiped at my figure eight before retreating to the dark depths. I backed off and wasn't able to entice another strike later that night. I didn't ascend. Sunday night I again failed to levitate. I located several largemouth bass, feeding off a weedy peninsula located next to a drop off, and was able to catch a few before I hooked the "big one." At first I thought I had snagged a log. Then the fish started to take me deep, which was unfortunate for me because I was anchored on the drop off. As the bass made its way under my boat and toward my anchor rope, I knew I had to test the six-pound test I was using. As I put the brakes on, I felt the line go slack. What I thought was line failure turned out to be a straightened hook on my 1/16-ounce glo-jig. Losing the fish sucked as much as the leech it had just eaten. In retrospect, I realize not seeing the fish is part of what makes fishing so alluring. Now, I can speculate and tell my friends it was probably a state record, and they'll probably respond by telling me it was a carp. Not catching the Seven Island musky isn't that big of a deal, either. As all anglers who are a "brother of the angle" will certainly agree, the next time I head out on the lake, I'll probably catch that big musky and that state record is only the next cast away.

As some of you may have read in this week's issue of the Tomahawk Leader, I believe checkpoints at both ends of U.S. Hwy. 51 could help slow the spread of VHS into our waterways. As an angler, I feel it's important to protect the very resource I've come to love. In case you missed it, here's the editorial as printed. Please, share your thoughts on this idea and offer any suggestions you may have on ways to stop the spread of invasive species:

The real tragedy that will occur if we are unable to stop the deadly fish virus viral hemorrhagic septicemia (VHS) from spreading into our Northwoods lakes is that we know it’s coming and we have the resources to delay the infestation. The best way to rationalize VHS control is to liken it to those who are infected with a virus. First, you limit the contact the sick have with the healthy population. Then, you take preventative measures to keep the healthy population safe. Lake Michigan and the Lake Winnebago chain already have confirmed cases and Lake Superior will most likely soon join that list. The state Department of Natural Resources estimated 4,000 boats were on the Winnebago system alone the weekend VHS was detected. If just one-quarter of those boats left the chain that weekend, you’d have potentially 1,000 new hosts that could have unknowingly spread the virus. Take into account VHS can be spread by not draining a boat or by simply forgetting to empty a bait bucket, and the need for proactive measures become apparent. Fortunately, Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas counties have an opportunity to limit the chance of having our lakes infected. U.S. Hwy. 51 is the major thoroughfare visitors traverse to get to our Northwoods region. By controlling this main artery with stop-gate checkpoints, we could potentially ward off or at least delay the spread of VHS. The checkpoints would work by requiring each vehicle trailing a boat, or jetski, on U.S. Hwy. 51 to be pulled over, perhaps on major holiday weekends. Bait buckets would be emptied and boats would be checked to assure no water is being transported. Nobody likes checkpoints. However, Minnesota currently uses this approach to ensure visiting Wisconsin anglers aren’t over-harvesting fish. Signs inform anglers of the upcoming checkpoint and game wardens ticket those who are in violation, and state patrol deals with those who decide not to stop. A simple checkpoint located in Vilas and southern Lincoln counties would greatly increase our chances of stopping VHS before it reaches our waters. Northern Wisconsin also has in place a group of trained volunteers who could implement the practice. Working with state DNR officials, “Clean Boats, Clean Waters” volunteers could check these boats for not only VHS, but for other invasives, too. Under the recently-enacted statewide program, these volunteers monitor their lakes individually. By banding together, those concerned about protecting our waterways could have the greatest impact by stopping the majority of boats coming in from unknown areas and heading for unknown territories. Currently, the DNR has in place rules to delay the spread of VHS. They’ve also placed signs at public boat ramps informing boaters that the Winnebago chain is infected with the fish virus. However, similar signs were posted when the exotic species Eurasian water milfoil was first detected in an inland lake and later when zebra mussels were found. By 2006, an estimated 475 Wisconsin lakes were reported to have Eurasian water milfoil and 100 were infested with zebra mussels. The Northwoods’ economy doesn’t need another hitchhiker. Tourism alone could be devastated if VHS makes its way to our waters. Between June and August, Lincoln, Oneida and Vilas counties annually experience their highest rates of tourism revenue. In both Lincoln and Oneida counties, nearly 40 percent of the tourism industry occurs during this summertime period, or just over $22 million in Lincoln and nearly $25,750,000 in Oneida. Vilas is even more dependent on summertime tourism, with 47 percent of yearly tourism revenue generated during the summertime period. In 2005, Wisconsin had 636,258 registered boats and a $2.3 billion fishing industry. The tri-county area that is intersected by U.S. Hwy. 51 has a total of 3,166 lakes. While VHS doesn’t physically harm humans, it’s only a matter of time before the deadly fish virus negatively affects each individual living in the Northwoods. The threat VHS poses to our inland lakes is real and odds are it will one day hitch a ride here. While we can’t check each boat that enters the Northwoods, we can delay the innevitable and raise public awareness by enforcing checkpoints. It begs the question, are our Northwoods lakes a valuable enough resource to demand checkpoints?

Hello fellow anglers, I had the biggest swirl behind a top raider of my entire life while fishing Lake Mohawksin last night. The fish were very active and I spotted this one feeding as it chased bait fish along a weed line. I didn't see the incoming musky, however, after doing a figure eight boat side, the spooked fish took off and left a very large wake behind. Two funnels made by the fleeing fish swirled in the water for what seemed like minutes. I can only imagine what kind of weight must have been behind that fish to move that kind of water. Perhaps I had an encounter with Beetle Nyberg's 50-inch (CPR) musky he caught earlier this month. I was recently fortunate enough to fish with him and his wife, Sue, and wrote an article on the couple's shared passion for musky fishing - look for their story in this month's NorthCountry Style. I can tell you the musky partners certainly know their business, Sue has two hefty 40-inch plus fish this year and Beetle has 48 1/2 and 48-inch fish to go along with his essox. If not for their shared wisdom, I more than likely wouldn't have been using the top raider last night, and even if you don't get to dance, it's always nice to be asked to the prom. Thank you Beetle and Sue for sharing your knowledge with a humble former bucktail user. Next week, weather permitting, I plan on fly fishing the Prairie River near Gleason. I promised Larry Beyer, Kippenberg Creek Kids proprietor, some copies of our WOW magazine, in which, he shares a few of the amazing hunting stories he and other members of the nonprofit organization helped make possible for children with life-threatening illnesses. After dropping of the magazines, I'll probably have to drift a fly, since I'll be in the area anyway. Kippenberg Creek Kids is a truly amazing program. If you want to learn more, visit www.kippenbergcreekkids.com. Send me a line and until next time, enjoy your Northwoods water time.

Hello Jeff, If I was fishing Lake Alice this weekend, the first place I would try is an area known as Menard Island. First, I should let you know I haven't done this canoe trip yet, but from what I've been told, it can be very rewarding. However, you should also know I've fished the Menard Island area and have caught many smallmouth bass and walleye. From Tomahawk, how I get to Menard Island is I take State Hwy. 8 east heading toward Rhinelander. After the one-way double lane ends watch for Spring Creek Rd. at a curve in the highway. Take a right on it and stay left, for a mile or two, until you reach the parking lot - you will need a truck because the road gets kind of rough. There's a canoe put in here at the end of a roughly 100-yard walking path. Upstream from the canoe put in the river turns to rapids. I've never been skunked while fishing this stretch from shore. Use a 1/16 ounce glo jig tipped with a leach. Bring along some extra jigs because you will get snagged in the rocks. After fishing, hop in the canoe and enjoy a quiet and scenic trip downstream. I like casting spinners for smallies while floating the river. As I recommend to everyone, check Julio's advice in his weekly fishing update, which can be viewed on this website under Weekly Fishing Reports. Also, please make sure to only take what you plan to eat and don't leave behind anything that will sour the next person's outdoor experience. To everyone, enjoy your Northwoods water time this weekend and drop me a line.

Drought conditions have kept me out of area trout streams over the past few weeks. Hopefully this fall will bring rain and the rivers will return to regular flow. While the dry conditions have kept me away from the Prairie River, it hasn't kept me from catching fish. In fact, it has actually worked to my benefit as I've been able to focus in on walleyes below area dams. Two evenings brought me nearly two dozen walleyes, of which, three were of legal size with one being over 20. All were released. I like using live bait, so I've been using a 3/4 ounce sinker with simple hook baited with fathead. I drag this slowly on the bottom and wait for the fish. As darkness begins to set in, I switch over to a glo jig tipped with a fathead and work this faster through the current. Until the cubic feet per second water flow on the Wisconsin River increases, I will continue to focus on areas where oxygen levels are highest in the river. Look for an article in this week's Tomahawk Leader about the dry conditions. Sam Morgan, Wisconsin Valley Improvement Corporation, vice president of operations, shares information on why area flowages are so low. Enjoy your Northwoods water time and drop me a line!

Jeff, Good to read you had success and were able to put some fish in the boat. A 18.5 inch smallie puts up a pretty nice fight, and some walleyes for the frying pan is always a nice treat. Congrats! Did you end up floating the river down? I've been meaning to make the trip, but I've been focusing my attention on landing a big musky.

Hmmm. I have an hour for lunch. It takes me five minutes one way to get to one of three dams nearby in the city. That means I would have 50 minutes to see how many bass and walleyes I can catch. The thing about fishing is, once its in my head, it supersedes nearly all other priorities. Lunch can wait. I'll have an update in about an hour!

Two nice smallmouth bass and a small walleye. Not bad for a quick lunch. As are the many reasons I enjoy living in Tomahawk, having quick, excellent fishing at my hands is a real treat. I have a 15-minute break coming up in a few hours. Hmmm. Fishing this Labor Day weekend should be a blast. The problem I often run into is trying to narrow in on how to best use my time. The musky fishing is heating up. The walleyes and smallmouth are also very active, and I haven't even had the opportunity trout fish the Prairie River yet this summer. However, with the world we're living in, I really shouldn't complain. Good luck to everyone this weekend and enjoy your Northwoods water time!

I'm also familiar with the Kings Dam musky and the one that got away. Last fall, I had a strike from what I believed to be a very large musky I had just seen submarine below the dam. After casting every plug in my musky tackle box, I decided to call it a night. The next morning, I returned to Kings Dam for the fish. As I walked to the dam, a nearby fisherman informed me that someone had just landed a 48-inch monster. The early bird got the musky. It shouldn't come as a surprise, but If you decide to fish muskies below Kings Dam make sure to use shallow running lures.I have about $50 worth of plastics, bucktails and plugs stuck to the bottom of the river below the dam. I know where most the snags are and still end up in them. This past week brought no muskies from outings on Seven Island Lake and the Wisconsin River. I was able to crack the 20-inch smallmouth bass class after fishing the stretch of Wisconsin River between Grandmother and Grandfather dams Sunday night. However, it was explained to me that bass on this stretch aren't considered big until they reach 24 inches. Maybe the bass I released will one day grow up to be a big bass.

As for the Kings dam area, several times I snagged long lengths of fishing line instead of rocks. Twice it looked like Spider wire. While I'm sure that a scuba diver could retrieve a fortune in lures, the amount of stray snagged line could turn the area into a death trap for the ambitious diver. Saw a 37" caught & kept, a 32" released and a ~45" lost. Is it legal to use Bluegills for bait? My son had one hit a bluegill at his feet as he was bringing it in.

Jeff, It is legal to use panfish as bait as long as you count them as part of your daily slot limit. Just as concerning as the line in the water at Kings Dam, I find the line on the shoreline to be another potential hazard. Small mammals and waterfowl are known casualties of this often careless disrespect for the outdoors. Not that it helps for musky fishing, but two tricks I use when fishing below dams are to use a wire hook that bends easily and the other trick is to make a small loop of line under where you clamp down on the sinker. This allows the line to pull free when you get snagged. You lose the sinker, but it saves a lot of time in having to re-rig. Sounds like musky fishing has been pretty good for you. I'm curious if you've ever seen a musky do something strange? I have. I've also spoken with several musky anglers who tell me stories that are almost to hard to believe.

Thanks for the tip! That should save a lot of hooks & slip bobbers. As for the sinkers, my son & I have used Green Gremlin tin shot for the past three fishing seasons. AFter reading about lead poisoned water fowl & loons, a presentation at Northland college finally convinced us to make the switch from lead to tin sinkers & jigs.

My son & I don't actively fish for muskies. The only strange muskie tale I have occured when I was fishing Lake Tomahawk with a friend on July 4 about twenty years ago. We were casting to a weed bed in a small bay. I was watching a Bald Eagle gliding above us when I heard a splash. Looking back at my surface bait, here was a set of jaws following the lure & making snapping motions about a foot behind the lure. The muskie follwed to about 5 feet of the boat. I cast back to the same area, only to have it happen again. Was the fish trying to "scare" my bait away or just goofing off? Who knows?

My son's first muskie came on a lure his sister found buried in the sand on the Flambeau Flowage. A chewed up jointed Rapala with a broken leader attached. The next morning I suggested that he tie on to a medium action bait casting rod we brought along on vacation. As I rowed to a spot we had been catching walleyes on Mercer's Grand Portage Lake, we went past a tiny point jutting out before a shallow bay. The fish hit the Rap & flew out of the water at a 45º angle. It was early morning & we couldn't see if the fish was a northern or a muskie. We just knew it was a good one. As it shot past the boat C.J. yelled "Dad, it's a Muskie!" As I rowed away from the point & the weeds, C.J. played the fish. There was no leader, but the muskie was hooked by the rear treble & every time the fish rolled the lure wrapped around its snout. The line never came close to the fish's teeth.

I'd broken our big net the previous day by sitting on the yoke, so all we had was a smaller net supplied by the resort. The fish shot by the boat several times during the "eternal" battle. Finally C.J. directed the fish toward the net & a quick scoop brought it into the boat. The hook fell out on its own. (This was a good thing since I'd forgotten the pliers in the cottage.)

Keeping the fish in the net & in the water, we rowed back to the cottage to show Mom & Sis. No tape measure, so held a stringer next to the fish & made a knot at the tail while holding the ring at the fish's jaw. We let the fish go after getting a picture next to the boat. We "retired" the lure & walked to Mercer to measure the knotted stringer & to buy an identical Rapala. C.J.'s first muskie measured 38 inches in length. I have yet to catch one.